CHAPTER 9 The Secret Beneficiary
CHAPTER 9
The Secret Beneficiary
The name on the policy meant nothing to me.
Lucas Bennett.
I looked at Ethan.
"Who is he?"
"We're still trying to find out."
The policy had been opened seventeen years earlier.
Its value had grown to nearly twelve million dollars.
The premiums had all been paid from Blue Horizon Management.
My mother's company.
"Why would she insure herself and leave everything to a stranger?"
Ethan folded his hands.
"That's exactly the question."
Before I could answer, his phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed.
"Daniel."
He answered immediately.
"Daniel, slow down."
I couldn't hear the other side of the conversation.
But I could hear fear.
Real fear.
Ethan suddenly stood.
"What address?"
He grabbed a pen.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes."
The call ended.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Someone broke into Daniel's apartment."
"Was anything stolen?"
"No."
He looked at me.
"They ignored his laptop."
"They ignored his cash."
"They took only one thing."
"What?"
"The original accounting ledger."
The color drained from my face.
"So they know."
"They've known."
He placed the remaining files into his briefcase.
"Which means we're out of time."
We reached Daniel's apartment just after eight.
Police cars already lined the street.
Yellow tape blocked the entrance.
An officer stopped us.
"Family only."
"I'm his attorney," Ethan replied, showing his identification.
The officer hesitated before stepping aside.
Inside, the apartment looked untouched.
No broken television.
No overturned furniture.
No signs of a struggle.
Too clean.
A detective approached us.
"You knew Mr. Ross?"
"I represent him."
The detective nodded grimly.
"He wasn't robbed."
"He was executed."
I felt my knees weaken.
"What?"
The detective lowered his voice.
"One shot."
"Professional."
"No neighbors heard anything."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"Was anything missing?"
"The victim's personal ledger."
My heart sank.
Exactly what Daniel had told us.
As the detective walked away, Ethan noticed something near the bookshelf.
A single folded piece of paper.
Hidden beneath the leg of a broken chair.
He picked it up carefully.
Only six words were written across the page.
She knows about the adoption.
Below it...
one handwritten initial.
M.
I stared at the note.
My hands began to shake.
Ethan looked at me, his voice quieter than ever.
May you like
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"I don't think your mother is trying to protect a secret anymore."
"I think she's trying to erase everyone who knows it."
